Walk the Line
by SilverTrinity
Summary: One phone call completely changes John Cena’s life in ways he couldn’t imagine. How is the WWE superstar going to cope with all the new things being thrown at him now?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to any of the people named in this story or of the WWE. I do not make any money from this story nor will I ever.

Summary: John Cena's past comes screeching back into life one day and he has no idea what to do with all the women and drama in his life now! Will his life ever be the same again?

**Walk the Line**

Chapter One: Unexpected News

John was well into his workout when an intern happened by him while he was working on the weight bench. He was pressing more then his usual weight and was struggling a little with it. Not that that was a bad thing, if it was easy then John knew it wouldn't be helping him at all.

"Mr. Cena? You have an urgent phone call," the small intern said to him.

"Tell them," John grunted as he pushed the bar up, "to call back."

"But Mr. Cena, it's really important," the intern replied.

John gave him a look as he let Ken, his spotter, take the bar and set it onto its holder so John could sit up. "Who is it?" he asked resigned to the fact that this wasn't going to end until he took the phone call. He really hated it when his workouts were interrupted.

The intern gave a glance to Ken, better known as Mr. Kennedy who took the hint and walked off to finish his own workout. "It's from an investigations company Mr. Cena."

"Investigations?" John asked his attention fully on the intern now, "Why are they calling me?"

"I don't know, they wouldn't tell me anything," he said as John followed him out of the hotel's gym and to the elevators, "Sorry," the intern added.

John and the intern were in the elevator alone for the short ride from the basement to the second floor and John silently followed the younger man to his room. As John entered the room he saw it was a mess. Papers were everywhere, all over the two beds and small desk that all the rooms had. There was also a couple laptops strewn about, clothes too and another intern that looked like he needed some sleep, badly, was on the phone.

"Look, I told you I'm not giving any information about anyone from the roster without direct orders from my own boss…No way am I telling you anything," he said frustrated, his hand rubbing over his face.

"He's here," the intern with John said as he plopped himself down at the desk and immediately started typing on it and ignoring everything else in the room.

The new intern turned around and looked at John as he continued speaking on the phone, "He's here, you can talk to him yourself," and he handed the hotel phone to John and started gathering up some papers. John sat on the other side of the bed as he took the phone from the tired intern, "Hey you might not want to say anything and tell the company and get a lawyer first," the tired intern chipped in as John put the receiver to his ear.

"Hello?" John asked.

"Mr. John Felix Anthony Cena?" a cool male voice oozed over the phone.

"Yes?" John answered.

"That is your full name, correct?" the voice on the phone asked him.

"Yea," John answered again.

"Okay, I want you to know that this phone call is not an investigation on you per say," the voice told him.

"Per say?" John asked.

"Well yes, I am checking into your background, but not overly so, only enough to prove another person's claim on their background," the voice answered him.

"What?" John asked, this was going around his head and he couldn't seem to catch hold of it.

"Sorry, I should explain more accurately; what I mean is my company and I was hired by another company to do background checks on hopeful employees of that company. I need to check your authenticity to make sure of one of the applicants' authenticity," the man said.

"Oh, okay then," John said relaxing a little more now. He had had crazy ideas in his head that this was the police calling about some crime he had never heard of before or someone trying to stalk him or who knows what.

"Yes very good then, so you are in face John Felix Anthony Cena and you were born and raised in West Newbury, Massachusetts, moved to California and started a wrestling career and then moved to Louisville, Kentucky to wrestle in the Ohio Valley Wrestling company?" the man asked.

"Yea that's all right," John answered him. This wasn't so bad.

"And since then you have been employed by the World Wrestling Entertainment company and moved your permanent location to Tampa, Florida?" the man asked.

"Yea, yea that's all right," John said wiping the last drops of sweat from his forehead.

"You do know a Miss Rachael Nicole Roark, correct?" the man asked all business now as John heard him typing in the background of the phone noise.

"Rachael Roark?" John asked puzzled and frowning trying to go through all the women he knew, which at this point in his life was an unhealthy amount, but he came up blank.

"Yes, Rachael Roark of Haysi, Virginia, twenty two years of age and formerly of Louisville, Kentucky," the man asked slowly.

John's mind went into a screeching reverse as he thought of back when he lived in Kentucky and then her face bloomed in his memory. Oh yea, long stick straight brown hair, big brown eyes, big smile and goofy and funny as hell. "Oh yea, sorry it's been a really long time since I've seen her, but yea I knew her when I lived in Kentucky," John answered.

"You haven't been in contact with her since you left Kentucky?" the man asked.

"Well she left first actually, at the start of the fall she moved to Virginia. I moved about six months later," John answered him.

The man, what was his name? Oh yea Ashbury, John thought hummed as he typed and then asked, "What was your relationship with Miss Roark?"

"Well we were friends and then we had a little fling, but it wasn't serious and then she moved anyways," John explained; for some reason it sounded bad to hear it out loud. Just some little fling, but it wasn't serious.

Ashbury didn't comment on it though and continued on, "Have you or Miss Roark ever to your knowledge been in trouble for any illegal activity?"

"No!" John said offended.

"We have to ask sir," Ashbury soothed and continued on, "Have you had any contact with Miss Roark since she left Kentucky?"

"No none at all," John answered, still slightly miffed at the anything illegal question.

"How would you describe Miss Roark?" Ashbury asked.

"Umm," John said thinking, remembering this was a background check for a potential employee, meaning Rachael was trying to get a job and for whatever reason had put his name down, "She's really nice, honest, loyal and conservative," John said proud of himself for coming up with some good adjectives.

"Alright then, thank you for your time and we are sorry for bothering you," Ashbury said about to hang up when John stopped him;

"Why did you call me though? Did Rachael put me down as a reference?" John asked wanting to know after five years he had suddenly heard the name Rachael Roark again.

"Well no, Miss Roark didn't have you down as a reference at all, but we had to check all her medical records as well and your name came up there," Ashbury said cautiously.

"Medical records?" John asked confused, "I never took her to the hospital or anything."

"Well no, your name didn't come up in any hospital reports or bills, just a, umm, certificate," Ashbury said.

"Certificate of what?" John asked really wanting to know now.

Ashbury was silent for almost a full minute it seemed and after an impatient noise from John did he actually say something and still he said it quietly, "I am not supposed to tell you that," he said.

"Come on! I haven't heard her name in about five years and then you call asking about her and giving me little hints about hospital certificates and now you won't tell me the last little part?" John growled into the phone making both forgotten interns look at him.

Ashbury gave a frustrated sigh and was silent for a second and then said, "Mr. Cena I am not allowed to tell you anymore then I already have," and interrupted when John started to him, "but I will tell you that your name appeared on a hospital certificate of birth as the father. Now good day to you Mr. Cena," and with that Ashbury cut the connection between them and left John holding a phone with his mouth ajar and no idea of what to do with what he had just heard.

"A birth certificate?" John asked finally putting the phone down on his lap and looking at it unbelievingly.

The first intern, the one that had retrieved John from the gym was looking at him with narrowed eyes, it figured to him that John Cena had had a one night stand and the chick had a baby and now it would probably be all over the news because she was going to cause him a dead beat dad, but he had never known about the kid anyways and it was really just one big mess.

"I told you to get a lawyer," the second intern chipped in as he continued reading the papers he had collected earlier.

John nodded his head dumbly and handed the phone back to the second intern who didn't look stupefied like John felt. He stood up and left the room and walked to the elevator. He pushed the up arrow button and stared at the doors. A birth certificate that had his name written down as the father and he hadn't known about it? How was that even possible? John had always been careful with women and sex, or at least he had thought he had been.

John jumped a little with the ding of the elevators arrival and then hurried on it. He was glad it was early in the morning before most people were up and either checking in or out of the hotel. He went up to his room and fumbled with the key card until he finally made it in.

He heard the shower running and knew that his roommate was just getting up for the day and would probably go downstairs to the gym like all the other wrestlers. John hoped he wouldn't bother him, John didn't know if he could make any sense right now.

John sat on his bed and stared out at nothing. Could it really be true? He had a kid out there somewhere and he hadn't even known this kid existed until five minutes ago? Was that really actually possible? And if it was, why hadn't Rachael told him? Didn't she think it was important for him to know? Didn't she need some help with the kid? All the people he had known before at least paid for their kids even if they didn't see them.

But what if it wasn't true? John knew he was careful and what if Rachael had just put his name down to just put down a name? No, that didn't seem right to John at all. Rachael wasn't a slut. If she said he was the father, then there was a ninety nine percent chance that he was the father of that kid.

"Damn it!" John groaned and threw himself back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. How the hell had this happened? One minute he had his life all nice and neat and now there was this weird X-factor that was his kid that was so unknown to him that he didn't know the kid existed, its gender, its name, nothing.

Scratch that, he knew one thing about the kid, its mother's name was Rachael Nicole Roark. John jumped up from the bed and started pacing the room. He wasn't sure of what to do. Should he delve deeper into this or just leave it alone? John shook his head as he continued pacing back and forth, he knew there was no way he could just leave this alone and act like it hadn't happened.

"What's up with you?" Randy Orton asked, fresh out of the shower.

John stopped pacing and looked back at his old friend, "You remember Rachael? Rachael Roark?" he asked him.

"Rachael Roark?" Randy asked and frowned as he watched his friend start to pace again, "No," he answered.

"She was that girl I dated that summer before I joined the company when I was still with OVW," John explained.

Randy frowned more watching John's agitated state, "Okay, I still don't really, but what about her has got you all worked up?" he asked.

"I got a call about her awhile ago and it was really just this background check to see if she was clean for this job, well anyways they said my name came up from a hospital report," John said pacing even more but not saying anything else.

"And?" Randy prompted.

"I finally got it out of him what kind of hospital form it was even though he couldn't say anything else about it," John explained a little more.

"Jesus John, quit pacing already and tell me what's wrong!" Randy said growing frustrated at John's weird behavior.

"It was a birth certificate Randy, with my name as the father!" John exploded and threw his hands up in the air and continued walking around the room.

Oh.

Oh! Shit, Randy thought and now realized why John was so upset; he would be too if he was in the same shoes. "What are you going to do about it?" Randy asked.

"I don't know," John said now sounding defeated and he finally quit moving and sat down on the edge of his bed, "What should I do?"

Randy glanced away and then back at John, "Fuck if I know, go find her and the kid I guess," he said shrugging and getting into his suitcase.

"How?" John asked. All I know is her name and that she used to live in Kentucky with her aunt and uncle for the summers and then she'd go back to some hick little town called Haysi, Virginia.

"Then I would suggest going to those places," Randy said as he changed into some workout clothes and looked at John again, "I know you won't stop until you get this figured out so you might as well book some tickets now," he said and picking up his key card Randy left John alone with his thoughts. Randy thought that maybe it was best for John to think this through alone. He would always be there for John as they were friends and John had stuck with him through a lot of things, but finding out you had a kid five years after the fact was never something anyone ever took too well.

John sighed as he looked at Randy's laptop screen. He let John use it whenever he wanted and right now John was trying to figure out when to buy some airplane tickets. It was Sunday and he had to wrestle tomorrow, but after that he didn't have another commitment until the following Monday. John looked over bookings and decided that a flight to Houston from where he was in Vegas and then hop from there on a plane to Louisville. John was pretty sure he could remember his way to Rachael's aunt and uncle's house. If anything he could ask for some directions. John sighed and booked his tickets. He had no idea how this was going to turn out, but he was going to find out either way.


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer_: I don't own John Cena, the WWE, Ohio Valley Wrestling, etc. All these things belong to whomever they belong to and I don't make any money off of them or this story.

_Summary_: John Cena's past comes screeching back into life one day and he has no idea what to do with all the women and drama in his life now! Will his life ever be the same again?

_Author's Note_: I just wanted to say thank you very much for reading this story and _**THANK YOU**_ to the people who reviewed and put this story on alert. It means a lot to me that you all like it and I hope you continue to like it! D I also wanted to apologize for some mistakes I saw in the first chapter after I read it again once it was already posted. I shouldn't have posted it up so quickly, but I was excited about the story and wanted people to read it ASAP. I will try to fix those mistakes later and hopefully none were so bad that you stopped reading the story. I tried to make sure none were in this chapter, but I'm not perfect so sorry for before, now and in the future. But enough of the author's note, on with the story, cha!

**Walk the Line**

Chapter Two: One Step Closer to the Truth

John sighed as he continued slowly driving. He looked left and he looked right. None of the houses seemed to scream out at him, "**RACHAEL'S OLD PLACE**," which was getting really, really annoying. He had been wandering around neighborhoods forever now and still he had nothing.

John finally pulled the car over and let the engine idle for a few minutes as he thought all of this over again. He had not been able to get Rachael or her kid, _my kid too_, since he had heard from that background checking agency. He had made plans to get here, in Louisville again quickly after finding out the news, but then John had had nothing to do but think.

He didn't care what some people said; he knew thinking could be a very dangerous thing. He had been thinking of those two people so much that it had consumed everything else he was supposed to be doing before them. John had skipped on a workout because he couldn't get them out of his mind. John had also been in the ring and taken a punch to the face because he had been thinking of them instead of the match.

John gingerly touched the right side of his jaw. He had the beginnings of a nasty looking bruise springing up there and it hurt like a bitch. The worse part was that John hadn't even been able to take out his pain on anyone because it had been his own fault for getting hurt in the first place. John knew that if he had been paying attention then he wouldn't have been taken by surprise and injured.

John stared moodily out of his car window and looked at the block he was currently in. It was a nice one with old houses with big trees shading them. There were abandoned bikes lying in yards, waiting for their owners to get out of school and start riding them again. There were nice cars parked along the sidewalk and all was quiet. It looked like every other neighborhood he had been in so far.

John had been thinking on his plane ride about how to get here and it had brought up a lot of memories for him. More then he had thought it would. He had just been trying to remember how to get to Rachael's aunt and uncle's house, but then he remembered how it was always her that would pick him up from work.

John had been working hard in the ring and even though he had a car, he was usually exhausted when he was done for the day. Rachael used to work for the Ohio Valley Wrestling company during the summer. One of their many gophers that ran around and did whatever some boss needed. Rachael had been taking the job since she was sixteen and could work. Now Rachael was an old hand at it. That's how John had met her actually.

Rachael had been running around getting all the wrestlers names to make sure they had everyone in their files. She had approached John and they had just hit it off.

She had been polite and he had been indifferent. He cracked a bad joke and she rolled her eyes. He gave her a fake name which sent her into a fit as he wasn't on the list. He laughed and she frowned. He gave her his real name and she almost walked away. He grabbed her and asked her out. She said yes. He almost fainted.

John still didn't know why he had asked her out then. There was just something about her that he had liked and had clicked with him. Later Rachael would tell him that she didn't know why she had ever told him yes when she should have kicked him. That had made John laugh.

After that though, Rachael always got off of work before John did and she would come back and pick him up from work and take him to his apartment. There he would collapse for a few hours and she would go back home. Later John would get up and call Rachael and see what she was doing. She had been more then just a girlfriend for John back then, she had really been a friend.

Sure John had friends in the wrestling business, plenty of them. John still held many of those friendships now, but Rachael had been different because her life _wasn't_ all about wrestling. Yes, she worked part time for the company and yes, she enjoyed wrestling, but it was only one of many hobbies. Rachael had many other things that made up her life.

She had been refreshing to John and he liked that she was interested in him as a person and not just as another wrestler. Rachael liked hip hop music, which John had thought was freaking sweet. She had never been North of Kentucky or Virginia, which John had thought was weird. She had a strange addiction to skittles that could never be sated. Rachael always asked the strangest questions that John never knew the answers to, but would make him wonder about it too, like why did they call what you parked on a driveway and what you drove on a parkway.

John would go to her house all the time, for all of those reasons and more. Rachael had been important to him then and when she had went home it had hurt. He wasn't heartbroken or throwing himself into the river depressed, but it had left a big hole and John was at a loss for a long time about how to fill it up.

John closed his eyes and laid his forehead against the window of his car. He did not want to think about all of this right now. It didn't matter that she loved skittles and had never been up North. What mattered was finding her Aunt and Uncle's house so he could find out about this mystery child. The child was what was important. John put the car into gear again and started driving down the road.

It had taken another couple of hours, but finally John stared up at the large blue and white house of Warren and Amanda Roark. John had had an epiphany and had went back to his old apartment complex, made himself think of the route he used to take to her house and had somehow managed to find the house. The house used to be all white and the big tree that had shaded the left side of the house was now gone, but that was most definitely their house.

John sat in his car for a few minutes, parked at the curb across the street from the house. John had been so excited when he had realized that he had really found the house. That he could get the answers he wanted so much. It was just that thought though that kept John from getting out of his car and going up to the porch and knocking on the door. Those answers he wanted so much.

John bit his lip a little and stared at the house, still not bucking his courage up enough to actually go over there when a tap at his passenger window made him jump and look over. John was a little shocked at seeing the old grizzled face right there, "Uncle War!" he gasped surprised at the man's sudden appearance.

"Hey boy, what're you doing sitting in your car all day? Don't you want to come in?" Warren Roark asked him as he stood up straight.

John quickly turned the car off and hopped out of his vehicle. He walked around the front and stood in front of the man that was Rachael's uncle and his child's great uncle. John didn't know what to say. _Hey Uncle War! I got a tip that your grand niece or nephew might be mine and I thought I'd just stop by for a minute and see if that was true._ No, no that wouldn't work at all.

"Hmph," Uncle War said looking John up and down, "You look like you've been doing alright. Come on in and quit gawking around outside," he said as he led John across the street and into his yard. The man stopped to pet the brown Border collie that had bolted out of nowhere and into his legs.

"Where's Puddin'?" John asked looking around for the old hound dog.

"Eh, passed away a year or so ago. Made it to the age of seventeen, pretty damn good for a dog that didn't do anything," Warren said, "This is Sidy Lou," he introduced to John.

John petted the dog and missed Puddin' greatly. That had been the nicest and laziest dog he had ever met. He had tripped over him countless times, along with everyone else, and the dog wouldn't even raise its head to see what had just hit him; he'd just keep on sleeping.

"Come on, my Amanda has promised me some pie," Warren said leading John now into the house. John nodded his head and with a last pat to Sidy Lou, followed the old man into his house.

John stepped into the mud room, took off his shoes and then followed Uncle War into the living room. He found that while the outside of the house had changed quite a bit, the inside had very little changed about it. A few things were mixed up and there was a new television in the living room, but that was about it. It comforted John to know that while his life was turning upside down at the moment, that some things never changed; even if it was just the inside of Uncle War and Amanda's house.

Warren smiled as he walked from the living room to the big kitchen and dining room, smelling fresh apple pie the whole way. "There's my girl and pie!" he said happily and after giving Amanda a quick kiss on the cheek he went to the two pies sitting on the counter cooling off.

"It's good too see you too," Amanda said, "Don't touch those pies yet! There still cooling," Amanda warned as she slapped Warren's hands away from her fresh pies.

"Shew woman, it's better when their fresh out of the oven," Warren pouted as he continued to eye the pies.

Amanda rolled her eyes and turned when she caught movement to the side of her, "Well I never," she said striding to where John was hanging around the archway in between the kitchen and living room, "It's been a while since I've seen your face in my house! How have you been sweetie? Here, come here, sit down! Have some pie," she said as she steered John to the small table they kept in the kitchen.

"How come he gets pie?" Warren asked grouchily as he also sat at the table across from John.

"Because he's a guest War, that's why," Amanda replied as she busied herself getting John some pie and milk to wash it down with, "Here you go honey. Now if you want some more, just tell me," she said.

"Oh, thanks," John said blinking and picking up his fork. Amanda had always been one of those women who were made to take care of everyone else, a cyclonic caregiver so to speak. She had also never heard the word 'no' directed towards her and so John knew better now to just accept and eat the pie then to try to get out of it. Plus it really was awesome pie, even better then his mothers, although John would never tell her that. John didn't want to die, thank you very much.

There was a companionable silence then as John ate his piece of pie and Warren pestered Amanda enough to get a piece of his own. It surprised John that he could be so comfortable in this house after such a long time of not being in it or even talking to Amanda and Warren. He supposed it was just the way the couple was though. Even back when John would visit Rachael here, they had always made John feel completely comfortable and at home here. It seemed that distance and time didn't matter to them.

"So John," Warren started slowly as he finished his last bite of pie, "What brings you around? Are you doing some work for Ohio Valley Wrestling?" he asked.

"No, I'm still with the WWE," John said, not knowing what to say now that his mouth didn't have any pie to fill it.

"Well you moved away dear, what brings you around now?" Amanda asked politely as she smoothed her skirt, not looking at John.

John stared at his empty plate and wished that he knew how to voice why he was here without causing a huge scene. Wouldn't it seem obvious why he was here? They would know about Rachael's kid and they would know he was the father, right? Were they just testing him somehow? John frowned and took a nervous look at Amanda who was still not looking at him. That wasn't a good sign. He then glanced at Uncle War who was staring at him dead on. The man's light gray eyes seemed to stand out more from his tanned, wrinkled face and flyaway gray hair. Those eyes stared right into John's blue eyes and John knew then that Warren and Amanda knew exactly why John was here, they were just waiting to see how John was going to broach the subject and he decided to be straight forward about it.

"A man from a background checking company called me a couple days ago and during that conversation," John struggled for a few seconds and looked again at Uncle War, whose gaze had not wavered in the slightest, "I found out that the reason they called me was that Rachael was trying to get a job and they had found my name on a," John stuttered a little then, he was so nervous, "my name on a birth certificate of a baby she had had."

John was silent then as was everyone else in the room. It was uncomfortable and John hated that part of it more then anything else. He didn't care that he had admitted he had a kid out there somewhere. John had been really shocked, but he was not ashamed of it; nervous more then any other emotion. John was also mad that he hadn't known about it until now, but that was a conversation between him and Rachael, not her relatives.

The room was quiet for a minute, "But why are you here?" Amanda finally said, breaking the silence.

John was startled by the question, "I want to know if the baby is really mine and well, I don't know how to find Rachael or, or the baby. This was where I knew her, so this is where I came back to," John explained himself.

Uncle War nodded his head, "It is yours," he said and John gulped, trying to take that in. He really did have a baby. "You want the baby?" Warren asked.

John opened his mouth and shut it again, it's not that he didn't want it, but then again how could he keep her either? He couldn't even take care of a dog properly while he was on the road with the WWE. "This has totally hit me by surprise. I didn't know anything about it until a couple days ago. This, that baby changes a lot of things and I won't, I can't ignore it," John finally answered.

Amanda and War both nodded their heads understanding what John was saying to them. They had known about this problem for a long time and a problem it certainly was. They had hoped that John would find out about Rachael and the baby somehow. It wasn't right that John hadn't known about any of it, but there had been no talking to Rachael. She was an adult and not telling John had been her decision. It hadn't made anyone in the family happy, but it was her life and her choice and they had all respected that.

"It's about time you got here," Warren suddenly said as he stood up, making both John and Amanda look up at him. His tall, lean frame towered over John and he stared at the younger man. "I think I'll leave you two to talk," he said and left the room.

John looked back at Amanda, "What was that about? Is he mad at me? I swear I didn't know or I would have been here before!" he said alarmed.

Amanda shook her head, small strands of her grayish blonde hair falling from her low ponytail, "It's not that at all. This whole situation has always upset him. We know you never knew about Rachael and Gracie."

John stared at Amanda. He stared at her with wide eyes and his mouth letting out a low noise of surprise. He had a daughter. John had a daughter and her name was Gracie. Gracie. Gracie. Gracie, his daughter's name was Gracie. "Gracie?" he asked weakly looking at Amanda.

Amanda's sweet, round face fell into a gentle smile as she looked at John. She might not have known exactly how John was going to react to Rachael and Gracie. She didn't know whether they would be able to work out a good relationship with each other. Amanda did know by watching John's face as he learned his daughter's name, with that sudden far off look on his face and the way he said Gracie's name told her that John really cared for her, even though he had never had the pleasure of meeting Gracie yet.

"Yes, Grace Ann Elizabeth Roark, or just Gracie," Amanda said and smiled broadly at the wide eyed look on John's face and the smile that was starting to grow there.

"I never knew her name before, hell I didn't even know the baby _was_ a girl," John said as he thought about his daughter's name. She had four names, just like he did.

"You do now," Amanda told him, "Do you mind me asking what you're going to do?"

John shook his head, "I don't mind you asking, but I don't know what to tell you. I know I want to see Rachael and Gracie," he said and smiled quickly again, "but after that? I don't know what to do," he said.

"Do you want to be with Rachael and Gracie?" Amanda asked curiously. She knew she was treading on business that wasn't hers, but she wanted to know. She loved Rachael and Gracie both and she had always liked John. He had been a good boy then and he was a good man now. None of them deserved to be hurt in this.

"Me and Rachael were never really serious," John admitted, shrugging his shoulders, "I don't know if I want to be with her. I don't have a girlfriend or anything right now, but I don't know if I would want Rachael to be my girlfriend again. I just don't know," John said. 'Don't know' seemed to be his favorite phrase lately.

Amanda nodded her head. She had grown up in a time where Rachael and John would have been married to each other a long time ago, but that was then and this was now. Now it was up to them to stay together or be separate from each other. Either way they could share Gracie; that is if John wanted Gracie around.

They were quiet then and Amanda stood up and collected the dirty dishes from the table. She walked over to the sink and started washing them. John was silent and she wondered what he was thinking. This had to be a lot for him to take in. Her question was answered though when John suddenly spoke up, "Why didn't Rachael tell me?"

Amanda stilled. She had hoped that John wouldn't ask that question. It was complicated and Amanda didn't know if she was the right person to tell John everything. She stared out the small window above the sink and into her backyard. The evening was coming on quickly and it would be dark in an hour's time. She finally turned around and looked at John. His face was squared like he was ready to take a punch rather then hear the truth. Amanda supposed he thought it was much the same thing.

"I don't think that it's not that she didn't want to tell you. I think Rachael just wanted the best for everyone," Amanda answered John.

"How is not telling me about my own kid the best thing?" John asked suddenly angry. He wanted to know about Gracie! He was her father, and as her father he should have known about her existence and been there for Gracie, played, loved and supported her in every way that he could. John wasn't given that chance and he wanted to know why.

"John, sweetie, I don't know. It wasn't my choice, it was Rachael's. We all respected it and followed it because she wanted us too. You need to ask Rachael these questions, not me," Amanda told John.

John let out a deep breath and tried to let his anger go. It was not Amanda's fault that all of this had happened. He didn't need to take his anger out on her. "I'm sorry," he said sincerely.

"It's alright dear. I know this must be rough for you," she said and smiled at him, "You might as well stay here tonight and tomorrow you can continue your journey," Amanda suggested.

John thought about it. It was going to be dark soon and he needed to find a hotel room. He still didn't know where Rachael was and he liked it here, "Alright, thanks," he said,"Are you sure it's alright? Uncle War won't mind?"

"No dear, not at all," Amanda said waving off John's fear of Uncle War, "Do you like pork chops?" she asked and smiled at John's nod.

John was lying on the bed in the guest room that Amanda and Warren were letting him stay in for the night. It had been a whirl wind of a day and John was just now letting it all sink in to him. He had a daughter, a daughter named Grace Ann Elizabeth. Rachael's Aunt and Uncle were happy that he had finally found out about his child and had come in search of her.

It did seem like that was what he was doing too. John was searching for his child, because now that he knew Gracie existed he couldn't let her go. He would never be able to not live his life without thinking of her now. It turned John's head around and he didn't know if he would be able to recover from it.

There was a knock on the door that interrupted John's thoughts. He looked at the door and jumped up from the bed, walked over and opened the door. Uncle War was standing before John, a very serious expression on his face. "Uncle War, is there anything wrong?" John asked him moving to the side to let the older gentleman by him.

The man sat on the edge of the bed and looked at John, "Come here," he ordered patting the bed beside of him. John walked back over and sat beside of Warren, "Good, now I need to talk to you boy," Warren said.

John was wondering what Uncle War was going to say. Was it good or bad? "Now I know all of this is new to you and it's probably pretty overwhelming, but I need to tell you some things first. You need to be there for that baby, no matter what boy, you hear me? Every child needs its mother and its father. It doesn't matter about you anymore, what matters is her," he said.

John nodded his head; he knew he needed to be like that, he knew Gracie was more important now. John stopped thinking though as Uncle War continued, "I don't know how you feel about Rachael, but you two need to have a good relationship, whether it's just being friends or lovers. Gracie needs to see that things can work between you two," he said and John nodded his head. He also knew this was true. He and Rachael needed to work something out for Gracie.

"Finally John, son, you need to realize that no matter how far from left field this has come from, you need to realize that this is a blessing to you. Every child is and you need to cherish that you have been so lucky and blessed to have a child. No matter that she was unexpected or interrupting your plans now," he said.

John nodded at this too, "Okay I know, I get it Uncle War," he said and the older man nodded his head.

"I know you think you do, but when you start through your life with those two with you now. Things are going to change, stop and start just because they are with you now and sometimes it won't be as easy as you think it's going to be. It's one thing to think and say you're going to be there and help out; it's another to actually do it. Do you understand me?" he asked John.

"I do," John said nodding his head again.

"Alright then," Warren said, "I suppose I should let you sleep then. You have quite a trip tomorrow," and with that he said his goodnight and was gone, closing the door behind him. John looked at the door again and wondered why Uncle War had felt the need to do that. Still the man was right and John knew that it was also time to go to bed. He had to drive southeast on highway 64 and then hop onto 23 south where he would go through Pikeville and then 460 through Elkhorn and finally he would be in Haysi, Virginia.

The closest John had ever been to there was Lexington and that was only about half the trip. He was really hoping that he wouldn't get lost. Uncle War and Amanda had given him very precise directions. Still, John was nervous and so he was starting at around eight in the morning and would hopefully make it sometime in the afternoon.

John knew that by now Rachael would be expecting him to show up. Amanda had called her sometime after dinner when Uncle War had been distracting John in the living room, talking to him about Ohio Valley Wrestling and the WWE. Amanda hadn't said much about it except that Rachael would be waiting for him at her house and had given John Rachael's phone number in case he got lost. He really didn't want to have to call it.

It unnerved John to know that Rachael knew he was coming to her house. It probably unnerved her more. John needed to know about Gracie and why Rachael had done what she had done. It would be an interesting day to say the least. John shut his eyes and waited for sleep and tomorrow.

_**To Be Continued!**_


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own or make money off of the WWE, OVW and their employees, Barbie or make any money any other way there is to make money. Ha!

Summary: John Cena's life is flipped around when he has to go find an old girlfriend and a kid he never knew existed. What will happen to the life he has always known now?

Author's Note: Thanks again to everyone who reads/reviews/favorites/puts this story on alert. I really appreciate the fact you're taking the time to read my story. Please read and REVIEW! So then I'll know what you lot are thinking about all of this. D

**Walk the Line**

Chapter Three:

John Cena had never realized that when Rachael had talked about the tiny country town she lived in, that she hadn't been exaggerating at all. There was literally one street. There wasn't a stop light and in some places there wasn't even freaking lines of paint on the road! How did they drive with no lines to guide them? How could they judge where they were on the road?

John grumbled as he pulled off the road and let the few vehicles that were behind him, pass him. He also wanted to know how the people here drove so fast when the road was always curving around and around. He couldn't get past thirty five miles per hour and these people were going around fifty five and some faster then that! He shook his head as he drove back onto the road and started looking for the street that Amanda had said Rachael and Gracie lived on.

An hour later John was sitting at a little gas station looking down at his directions and looking up towards the road. He didn't get it, he just didn't get it. He had looked and looked for that road and he had never once even caught a glimpse of it. How could that be if the road didn't fork off anywhere? It was a straight shot! Yet, John couldn't find the road at all.

He gave a frustrated sigh and did the one thing it seemed all males hated doing. He asked for directions. John got out of his car and went into the small gas station. It was crammed with junk food, magazines, a little deli, coolers and all sorts of stuff. John let the door shut and saw that there were only two people in the place: the cashier, who was a middle aged woman and an older man who was talking to her from across the counter. John stepped up behind the man and waited patiently for his turn.

"Did you see in the Star about how they arrested all those people at Prater?" the old man said.

"Yea, you knew they'd catch'em eventually. Everyone knows drugs are bad up there; it was only a matter of time. Especially since they voted in that new sheriff, Eugene Mullins, I heard he was going to clean up this county good," the woman replied.

"Hopefully, too many people stuck on all that and ruining their lives," the old man groused.

The woman nodded and finally looked up, "Oh! Sorry there, I didn't see you. Can I help you?" she asked John politely.

John nodded his head and when the older man stepped out of the way, John went to the counter and laid his directions down on it and said, "I'm trying to find somebody, but I can't seem to find this road," he said.

"Well you're not from around here! Where are you from?" the old man asked.

John looked at the old guy and blinked. What did it matter if he wasn't from here? "No I'm not, I'm from Massachusetts," he answered him.

"Massachusetts! Well that's a long way from home for you. Who are you looking for anyways?" he asked and the cashier nodded her head in agreement of his question.

"Rachael Roark?" John asked more then answered. What did they care _who_ he was trying to meet up with? He just wanted to know _where_ she was.

"Who?" the old man asked.

"Oh I know her, yeah, her and little Grace come in here all the time," the woman smiled at John, "They don't live too far away. You just have to go down the road this way and then when you get by that old barn on the right take an immediate left onto that road. That's the road you're looking for," she said.

"Oh okay," John said nodding his head. He sort of remembered passing by an old barn a few times.

"Yeah, the road sign got knocked down a few months ago when Joe Perry's kid wrecked," she said, "Ran it right over and then hit the hillside with his car."

"Totaled it right?" the old man asked, "I bet his dad was mad."

"You know he was, Joe has a terrible temper," the cashier answered, "Anyways just go that way, you can't miss it okay?"

John nodded his head again, "Okay, thanks," he said and quickly left the station and got back in his car. He shook his head and wondered why those people liked to gossip so much. He turned his car on and headed down the road. It didn't take long before he did see the old barn that John was pretty sure the cashier was talking about. He slowed his car down as he came abreast to it and looked to his left.

That was not a road.

It was most certainly not a road. No, no, no. What John saw was a narrow, gravel maybe you could call it a driveway at best, but definitely not a road. By now John had stopped his car completely in the middle of the road and was looking back between the barn and the gravel path. Maybe it was a driveway, Rachael's driveway. Then why would it need its own street name though? John shook his head. Might as well try it, he had nothing better.

John slowly turned his car onto the gravel path and slowly made his way through. It was straight for awhile, but then gently curved to the right, around a large hill. When he made his way around it he saw two houses on the same side of the road. Neither one was yellow with brown shudders, like Amanda had said Rachael's was like and so John slowly drove past them. The path continued up a little hill and when John was going down it he saw a trailer on his right. There were a couple kids playing out in the yard and an old woman sitting out on the open porch they had built onto it. She waved at him. John gave her a small wave back. Maybe she was a WWE fan; why else would she wave at him?

John continued on as he saw another couple of houses and trailers and finally when John was wondering how long this was going to take he saw it; a tiny house that was a light yellow with dark brown shudders, roof and porch that stretched the entire front length, which wasn't all that long. John saw there was a blue cavalier sitting in front of it and he pulled in beside of it.

This time John didn't hesitate about getting out of his vehicle. He got out and shut his door with a loud thud. John didn't know if he had shut the door too hard or if it had just sounded so loud, because it was so quiet here. No street noise could be heard, no neighbor noise, no any noise. Hell, John could only see two other houses from here and none of them were all that close.

John moved to the steps and quickly jogged up them and to the front door. He knocked and took a step back, waiting for Rachael to answer. John shifted his weight from one foot to the other and stuck his hands in his shorts pockets and then pulled them out again. He looked around, but wasn't really seeing anything in his nervous state. The creak of the door made John turn and for the first time in about five years he looked into the eyes of Rachael Roark.

"Hey," she said quietly, leaning against the open door and looking at him.

"Hey," John said back. Now what did he say? He didn't know and it was so agitating.

They just stared at each other for awhile, hours, seconds, John didn't really know.

"Come in, will you?" she asked him hesitantly.

John wondered if she thought he would actually say no, "Yea, okay," he said and stepped forward and letting himself into her home.

Rachael shut the door behind him as John took in where Rachael lived, where Gracie lived. It was small, much smaller then he was used to. Not that it bothered him really, it was just that John wasn't used to it. Compact wasn't John's thing.

John couldn't help checking out where Rachael and Gracie lived. He had first stepped into a living room that had a couch and television in it. There was a small side table beside of the couch, a couple bookshelves, and some pictures hanging on the walls and there were toys everywhere. John could see that there were two white doors to his left and one opposite those two in the living room. He guessed these were bedrooms or something. The wall opposite John held two archways and he could see hints of a small kitchen in one and a dining room in the other.

"John?" Rachael asked quietly as she had watched him checking out where she lived. He turned to her, "Want to have a seat?" she asked him.

John nodded his head silently and sat on the couch as it was closest to him. Rachael moved past him and sat on the other end of the couch. A cushion separated them, but it felt like a mile. "Rachael," John said gruffly, struggling with what to say and losing the battle. He just looked at her perplexed and shrugged his shoulders.

Rachael looked away from him and sighed. She knew that this would probably happen one day and it wasn't easy. Not at all, not when John had suddenly reappeared and was looking at her with those lost blue eyes of his. What was she supposed to say? She didn't know.

"John, I just," she started and then stopped. "I didn't mean," she tried again, but stopped. She kept her mouth shut after that, Rachael didn't know what to say. John was just looking at her and she was ashamed to realize that she didn't know what he was thinking. The man who had helped her to create another life, a life she loved more then her own, and she had no idea who he was anymore. Rachael covered her face with her hands and was silent.

John could only watch Rachael. She looked guilty as hell and upset about it. He didn't feel badly about that. It was Rachael who had decided to keep him from everything and now he wasn't going to feel badly for her when she had to come clean to him face to face. John did want answers though and Rachael sitting there quietly wasn't going to help him. "Rachael," he said and when she shook her head he repeated, "Rachael. Hey, look at me." Rachael did look up and her brown eyes held many emotions, all swirling together. He decided to give her a little break and indulge himself as well, "Tell me about her," John asked.

Rachael made a surprised noise in her throat. She hadn't been expecting John to ask her that. Not yet anyways, maybe not even ever. Rachael had been so scared when her Aunt Amanda had called and told her that John had found out about Gracie and would be at her house the next day. She knew he'd be angry, who wouldn't be? What Rachael was scared of though was if John only wanted to tell Rachael off about it and get her address so he could send a check every month and that would be it.

John had always been a good person and Rachael knew that John would not be able to just forget about Gracie like she didn't exist. It just wasn't John's nature to treat people like they didn't exist, especially family. What she was afraid of was that John wouldn't care and love Gracie enough to be an actual part of her life, like how she knew Gracie would want him to be. To see her daughter's heartbroken face for all the next birthdays and Christmas's and ball games and whatever else when Gracie would look for John and he wouldn't be there would be terrible. The only way Gracie would know anything about him was from her and from the way he wrote a check out every month and sent her. It wouldn't be fair to Gracie and Rachael hated the thought of it.

"Rachael," John said again, making Rachael actually focus her eyes and mind on the man in front of her and not a possible future ahead of her.

"I'm sorry John. I just want you to know that I'm really sorry. I swear I have my reasons, so many reasons. It's just that," and Rachael stopped again, but this time because of the large hand that was laid on top of hers. She looked at his wide hand on top of her smaller one and then up at his broad face. He had crossed that cushion so easily to her that it was a little scary.

"We'll talk about all that later," he told her, "Right now just tell me about her."

"Gracie?" Rachael asked a little dazed that John was asking about Gracie like he really wanted to know. That hope that she hadn't dared to hope for.

"No," John said seriously, "Pamela Anderson," he dead panned.

"Jerk!" Rachael groaned slapping his hand. Did he have to make a joke out of everything? But Rachael was smiling now and so were he and all the tension in the room seemed to be taking a break. It allowed Rachael to breathe and clear her mind a little. How do you start off telling the father of your child about said child? What would be important for them to know?

"Grace Ann Elizabeth is four years old. She loves peas and carrots and hates the lizard on the Geico commercials. She loves the color green. Gracie is spoiled rotten. She likes being in pre-school now and has a best friend named Zoe. She likes _Sesame Street_, and anything that comes on Nickelodeon or the Disney Channel," Rachael said smiling. This was only the tip of the iceberg. Rachael knew she could tell someone about Gracie all day long if they'd sit and listen to her.

John couldn't help but smile. Not only because he was finding out about his daughter, but because Rachael was smiling widely now, showing off every tooth in her head. It reminded him of the way his mom used to talk about him and his brothers to other people when they'd ask about what they had been up to. It was the look of a proud and happy parent. "More," he demanded.

Rachael pondered the ceiling for a moment and then said, "Come here," suddenly standing and walking to the door that was by itself. John followed behind her and wondered why she was leading him to this room.

Rachael opened the door and stepped inside. John followed her in and found himself in a bedroom and judging by the decorations and objects in said room, John would say that this was Gracie's bedroom.

It was a small bedroom, but plenty big enough for a small child and her things. It was painted a soft mint green and the two windows allowed plenty of sunshine into the room. There was a small twin bed pushed under one of the windows and it was decorated with pink bedding. There was also a small white desk underneath the other window that seemed to be buckling under all of the crayons, markers, pencils, pens, paper, paint, brushes and all matter of other art things the kid seemed to like. His kid liked art, it made John's stomach flip. There was a menagerie of more toys in the floor and John wanted to know what each toy was and why Gracie liked it.

"Well this is it. Gracie's little room," Rachael said as she side stepped a Barbie doll house and sat on the bed. John kept looking around and knew there was a wealth of knowledge about Gracie in this room. All the things she liked and wanted to do, where she dreamed and played. It was a lot for John to take in and he didn't think it would hit him as hard as it was.

She was a real person. Gracie was an honest to God real person and John had helped _create_ her. He knew it sounded stupid, but the reality of it was overwhelming and the past few days seemed to catch up with him at that moment. His head spun and he shut his eyes, darkening the entire visual stimulus that was assaulting him.

"John are you alright?" Rachael asked worriedly. John had lowered his face and wasn't saying or moving or anything and it worried her.

"Yeah," John said weakly. It was okay that he had a daughter and she had a life. It was okay. It was. "Yeah," he said again and finally looked up and around the room again. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He then walked over and sat beside of Rachael on the bed. He picked nervously at the sheets not wanting to look at her.

"John," Rachael said quietly and knew by the way his body stiffened that he was listening to her even though he wasn't looking to her, "I want to tell you why I did what I did five years ago when I first found out about Gracie," she said and took a deep breath. It was time to come clean.

TO BE CONTINUED


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer**: I do not own or make any money from the real people in this story, nor will I ever.

**Summary**: One phone call completely changes John Cena's life in ways he couldn't imagine. How is the WWE superstar going to cope with all the new things being thrown at him now?

**Authors Note**: Sorry it took me so long to get another chapter up. What can I say? Life just gets in the way sometimes. Sorry for any grammar mistakes and please enjoy the chapter and REVIEW! D

**Walk The Line**

Chapter Four: Moments of Truth

John swallowed hard. So this was it, he was going to finally find out why Rachael had hid herself and Gracie away from him all this time. Why she would have continued to do so if that company hadn't called John. "Well?" he asked her.

Rachael blew out a long breath and tucked some hair behind her ear, "I didn't know I was pregnant until almost a month after I left that summer. I wasn't even really sure then. I was so busy starting college and seeing my friends again. I had started working part time and everything was just so hectic. I didn't even notice I had missed my period at all. It wasn't until I started getting sick," Rachael explained.

John interrupted though, "Sick? You were sick with Gracie?" he asked worriedly. All those Hallmark movies of young mothers almost dying because of pregnancy his mom liked to watch flashing in his mind.

Rachael smiled at his worried look, "No John not that kind of sick. Just morning sickness, most women get that," she said soothing his worries. "It was my friend Ashley who was the first one to diagnosis me, although she didn't know it at the time. We were in class and I had to go throw up and she had followed me out to see if I was okay. She was trying to be funny and suggested maybe I was pregnant. I didn't really find it all too funny when it made so much sense. I went to the doctor as soon as I could after that. I didn't want to take one of those home pregnancy tests, I was afraid of what it would say and if it might be wrong," Rachael finished and looked out one of Gracie's windows, lost in her memories.

John watched Rachael's profile and waited. His mind was tired of thinking and he just wanted the answers to his questions.

"Anyways, I went to the doctor and the day after I knew I was pregnant. It was so weird John," Rachael said turning to him and looking at him, "It was like it was a dream or a story, but definitely not real. I don't think I even really understood it at first. I kept really quiet about it; I didn't even tell Mom or Dad. I knew they would freak, and rightfully so I suppose. I think that was the first reason I didn't tell you. I didn't believe it myself," she said.

John nodded his head. He could completely understand how this whole Gracie thing was surreal; he had been going through it for the past few days now.

"I ended up blurting it out during Christmas dinner in front of everyone," Rachael said and John couldn't hold back a laugh. Rachael smiled too but said, "It wasn't funny then. I had been sitting on it for awhile and no one knew except me and the doctor. I was almost five months along at that point. I still wasn't really showing though and with it being winter I was covering up in baggy sweaters. It was a real shocker to everyone and I ended up crying and running off. I know this sounds so bad, but I wasn't happy about the pregnancy at all," Rachael whispered.

John had not looked away from Rachael yet, he could see the guilt on her face, "Why would you be happy about it?" he asked.

Rachael gave John a look that he was a certain kind of crazy and rolled her eyes, "You're supposed to be happy about babies. There all great and junk and here I was thinking about how I was getting fat, I wouldn't be able to go to the beach with my friends that summer and that I didn't want this kid at all. What was I supposed to do with it when I still had so many things I wanted to do for me? I was being completely selfish," Rachael said.

John didn't say anything, what was he supposed to say? He had no clue how it was to feel trapped by something that was supposed to be good, but really wasn't at all.

"My family took it pretty hard. I got so many 'we're so disappointed in you' speeches and looks that I wanted to go crazy. Even if I wasn't sure about the kid, they were supposed to be, right? After that I didn't go back for the spring semester of school and instead hid out in my parents' house. I even quit my job. I was really depressed and didn't want to deal with anyone. That could count as another reason I didn't tell you then," she added.

"It was late in March when I went into labor. It really freaked me out; all those contractions and the pain and not knowing what was really going to happen, just enough to scare the shit out of you. My Mom and Dad took me to a hospital and there the contractions stopped. It was a false alarm, but it had scared me badly. I didn't want this kid, not if that was what I was looking forward too. It sounds stupid doesn't it? That I decided at almost nine months I didn't want the kid. There weren't much options, I had to have the baby. It was my Mom that brought up adoption," Rachael said.

"I hadn't thought about that at all. Someone could adopt the kid and I would be off, scot-free. It was like a miracle in my head and I had made up my mind that I was going to do that as soon as I had the kid," Rachael said.

John was kind of alarmed to find out that Rachael had almost given away their child. That if she had there would have been a zero percent chance of him ever finding out about Gracie. It scared John to know that now.

"I went into labor a week later, the first of April is when Gracie came into this world and I refused to even look at her," Rachael said quietly and sniffed. John wondered if she was crying, "I was so awful, not even wanting to look at my baby, let alone hold her and touch her and talk to her and just be with her. The nurse gave me such a cold look that I cried right there in the delivery room. They took her away then; I didn't even know she was a she until later. I fell asleep and when I woke up it was at night and I was by myself in a room. I don't know where my parents were off to; I think they might have been looking in on Gracie. I got up, and shit John that hurt but I didn't care, and I walked to the bathroom and looked at how un-pregnant I was and I felt so sad. I cried again. I bet you didn't know I was such a crier, huh?" she asked John.

John shook his head no he hadn't known she was such a crier or that she had gone through so much.

"A nurse found me then and she scolded me for getting up and helped me back into bed. I was still crying and she finally asked me what was wrong. I told her everything, about how Gracie was so unexpected, about how I felt so alone, how I felt so guilty and yet right about my feelings and then about the adoption. She just sat by my bed listening and petting on me. It was the best thing for me and I fell asleep. That next day that nurse showed up again and she started talking to me about what if I kept the baby. I couldn't believe she was trying to talk me into keeping it. Every argument I put up, she somehow explained away. I could still see my friends, I could still go to school, I could still work, I could still be me and not just the baby's mom. I didn't know what to do and so as a final attack she brought Gracie in the room and plopped her in my lap," Rachael said smiling and John could definitely see the sheen in her eyes from her tears.

"That was it for me. I looked into those big blue eyes and I saw you John and I couldn't do it. You could always make me do anything by just giving me that look and she gave me that same look then. My parents were a little confused by my complete one eighty, but they supported me. They even went out and bought clothes, diapers, everything for the house. I hadn't even done that," she admitted.

"I named her Grace after that wonderful nurse and I gave her four names so that she would still be connected to you somehow. I know it's pretty insignificant compared to giving her your last name or something like that, but I knew the meaning and I thought it was good. We took Gracie home a couple days after that and I haven't looked back since. I did go to school back in the fall and I took on a work-study job to help with the bills. Everyone seemed to be really surprised by me and Gracie, but everyone was supportive too. Even the rest of my family came around eventually. No one could resist those baby blues," Rachael joked.

"I've done okay since then. I just now moved me and Gracie here. My grandpa died and he left us some money. I put most of it away for Gracie later, but I did buy me a car and it helped put us ahead of the bills and lets me rent this place. I finished school finally and well as you know I applied for a job and I got it," she finished and looked at John.

He did know everything now. Mostly. "Rachael, I can understand not telling me throughout all the pregnancy, because you were so unhappy about it. I don't like it, but I understand. Afterwards, when you decided to keep Gracie and all the time since then, why didn't you call me?" John asked.

Rachael sighed and her small smile disappeared, "John I just thought it was best for all of us. Me, you and Gracie," she said.

John shook his head, how could Rachael even say that? "What?" he asked, "Why?"

"John you were just starting out in your wrestling career and everyone could see you were going to be great. You had the personality and the drive and you were learning the moves at OVW. How in the world were you going to have a career if I suddenly saddled you with a kid?" Rachael asked him.

"I could have done both," John said defensively, "Sure it would have been hard, but it could have been workable too. Other guys have kids in the business you know," he reminded her.

"Yea, but their married and are settled down. John neither one of us was settled then and you still haven't," Rachael countered.

"I might be if I had known I was supposed to be taking care of someone other than myself," John ground out.

Rachael felt guilty about that, "I know I should have given you a chance John, but I made a decision to protect you and me and Gracie. If that meant you and Gracie were separated, then so be it."

"What?" John almost yelled at Rachael. He really could not believe the turn in this conversation.

"Don't yell at me John!" Rachael said looking away from him, "I had to let you have your career. You would have resented me and Gracie otherwise. And I couldn't take the chance of you being there at first and ditching us later. That would have hurt Gracie too much. I couldn't take the chance it might happen so I stopped it before it started."

John was quiet for a few minutes. He stood up from the bed and paced the room a little as he thought this over. So that was the real reason that he hadn't been told about Gracie. That Rachael was afraid of him maybe screwing the kid over and so Rachael had made sure he couldn't by not telling him about Gracie at all.

"I would never _ditch_ Gracie," John finally said lowly, "I might not be perfect, far from it, but I would not hurt some little girl, _my little girl_, by ditching them."

"John please," Rachael tried reasoning with him, "I was just trying to make sure everyone was safe."

"You can never gain anything by playing it safe," John told Rachael, turning to her, "You could have lived off your parents and had them support you and Gracie, but you didn't. You went to school and have a job. Hell, you could have played it safe and gotten rid of Gracie when she was born, but you didn't, instead you took a chance and kept her and tell me Rachael, would you give Gracie up for anything now? Would you? Do you regret keeping her?" John asked her.

Rachael couldn't look at those blue eyes anymore. They were so accusing and so right that it felt like they were burning a hole in her. She averted her eyes from John's and swallowed. "I wouldn't have anything in the world if it meant giving her up," she finally whispered.

"Then why didn't you take the chance on _me_?" John asked her.

Rachael shook her head, "I don't know. You weren't there. We weren't serious. I didn't want to be serious with you. Not like that. I didn't want you mad at me. Mad that I had ruined your life. I thought if I had changed mine so much that at least I could keep yours the way you wanted it."

John looked at Rachael as she sat on their daughter's bed and cried. This was all just too much. Gracie, Rachael, the past, the present, the unknown future; it was all just too much.

John let out a frustrated sigh and walked over to the little desk his kid made art on. There was a piece of paper with a big yellow sun on it and it had eyes, a nose and a big smiling mouth on it in red. It was shining down on some creatures, who knew what they really were, but John guessed maybe a puppy, a seal and an elephant? He smiled finally. Gracie, he kid, liked art. Looking at the sun and those animals seemed to make John's headache go away. He finally put the picture down and looked back over at Rachael.

She was wiping her face and looking anywhere but at him. She had been through a lot. And a lot of that stuff alone. John knew that Rachael had just been trying to do the best she thought she could do. Still though, he didn't know if he could forgive her for not telling him about Gracie.

"Hey John?" Rachael asked quietly.

"Hmm?" John asked still glancing at her.

"You want to go meet Gracie?" she asked him.

"Are you sure you want me to?" he asked Rachael back, half out of spite and half out of curiosity of what she would say.

"Yes," Rachael said finally looking up at him, "I may have made a mistake in the past, but it's the present now and we need to pick Gracie up from pre-school," she said.

John looked at Rachael evenly, so she wasn't asking for forgiveness nor was she apologizing, but she was giving him now. John would take what he could get and he held out his hand to her, "Alright, but you're driving these crazy ass roads," he told her and she laughed.

TO BE CONTINUED!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the people employed by the WWE, the WWE itself, nor do I make any money from anything. I am po'!

Summary: One phone call completely changes John Cena's life in ways he couldn't imagine. How is the WWE superstar going to cope with all the new things being thrown at him now?

**Walk the Line**

Chapter Five: Introductions and Endings

John sat in the blue cavalier as Rachael traveled at speeds that were highly dangerous and would kill them both. Who knew the guy who owned seventeen muscle cars and loved to drive would die in a Chevy Cavalier at fifty five mph's? Still these curves were deep and there were drop offs and cliffs and John knew his time was coming to an end. 

"John, relax!" Rachael told him as she glanced at the large man in her passenger seat,

"You're such a city boy." 

John glanced at Rachael, who was completely calm and unfazed, "How can I relax when you're trying to kill us both?" 

Rachael laughed at John and shook her head, "its fine really, stop worrying," she reassured him, "We're almost in town anyways." 

John was thanking God and anyone else who would listen to his prayers when the car turned onto a dusty looking little town. The buildings looked older, but still in good condition, and there were plenty of cars going up and down the road. 

"I hate when they let school out early. I can't ever get through the traffic," Rachael complained to herself as she maneuvered her car through the street and the kids cruising around or parking and talking to one another. 

"Can't we just take another street?" John asked her watching the teenagers hanging out.  
Rachael laughed, "This is the only street," she answered him as she stopped the car as the truck in front of them suddenly stopped and a boy jumped out from the passenger seat, ran across the street and jumped into another car. 

John gave Rachael an incredulous look and shook his head. Only one street? John was pretty sure he was in some kind of 'Twilight Zone' episode; he just didn't get what the twist was yet. 

They moved on down the street finally and Rachael switched her blinker on and parallel parked the car, "Be careful opening your door, they won't stop just because you might die or take out my car," Rachael told John as she hopped out onto the sidewalk.  
John looked back towards the road and had to wait a minute for the traffic to clear before he could open his door. When it was finally cleared he quickly jumped out and shut the door. He walked to the sidewalk and stood beside of Rachael and looked at the buildings front glass. It read in large yellow letters, "Anderson Pre-School" and had pictures of blocks and toys below it. The inside of the front windows and the door was decorated in paper chains and drawings. John wondered if Gracie had helped make any of those. 

"Are you ready?" Rachael asked him. 

John looked away from the building and at Rachael. The wind was blowing her hair and her eyes seemed to be bottomless. There was a quiet confidence about her that shown through everything else and John for the first time, started to relax a little with this whole Gracie situation. This was still the Rachael he had known before. She was still the same girl he had been best friends and more with. She could have told him to go to hell and this whole thing could have became really ugly, but instead she was sticking herself out on a limb (with a little help from John) and allowing him to meet his daughter in a much more natural and happy way then say at a courtroom. 

"Yeah," John said still looking at Rachael. 

Rachael nodded her head and took a deep breath and opened the door. John's ears were immediately blasted by all the noise that came out of the building. Rachael stepped in first and John followed behind her. He let the door shut behind him and looked past Rachael to see that all the pre-schoolers were dancing in a circle to some kind of Simon-Says song that was blasting from a CD player. They were jumping around like frogs and then spinning in circles and then barking and then hopping on one foot. It was obviously grand fun as all of them were yelling and laughing. 

John smiled at the scene, but his eyes searched for her, for Gracie. There were probably around twenty to twenty five kids in there, but other than being a girl, John didn't know which child was his own. "Mommy!" a squeal was suddenly let out and John watched as a little girl suddenly bolted from the circle and almost toppled Rachael over in her attempt to hug her. "Mama I missed you," the little girl said, her small arms not even able to go completely around Rachael's small waist. 

"I missed you too baby," Rachael said smiling down at her daughter and being reminded again just how blue John's eyes were, "Are you ready to go home?" 

"Yeah!" the child squealed and then ran from her mother and picked up a few pieces of paper from a table and ran back to Rachael, "I made these for you," she said giving them to her. 

"Thank you sweetie! There really great," Rachael said looking through them. 

The little girl then noticed John standing behind her mother, "Hey, who are you?" she asked the big man. 

John just stared at her, so this was Gracie. She was tiny in every way, her short stature, her short little bob hair cut that framed her little face with its little nose and mouth. Well, John had been a little wrong, not everything about Gracie was small, she had the hugest eyes he had ever seen on a child, and they were so blue John wondered if he was looking into a deep part of the ocean. She reminded him of one of those anime characters in manga books. 

"Mama, is something wrong with that guy?" Gracie asked looking away from the man and back to her mother. 

Rachael stifled a laugh and glanced back at John, "No Gracie, he's just surprised to see you is all," Rachael told her. 

"Oh, okay then!" Gracie said not needing any more of an explanation and turning a dazzling smile on John. 

John swallowed the emotions down; this wasn't supposed to be so emotional. He wasn't that emotional. So why did he suddenly feel like crying his eyes out just by looking at a little girl? He took a deep breath through his nose and concentrated on Gracie, "Hey," he said. 

"Hello," Gracie replied, "You're really big! But not fat," she told him. 

John couldn't help but laugh, "No I'm not fat, I have big muscles," he told her. 

"Why?" she asked him. 

"Because I like to work-out a lot," John replied. 

"Oh, cool taters and beans," she said and looked back at her mom, "Can we go home now?" 

"Yes we can," Rachael told her and waved at the pre-school teacher as John backed out of the door and keeping it open for Rachael and Gracie. 

Rachael opened the back door of the cavalier and helped Gracie inside and into her booster seat. As she buckled her child up and nodding her head as Gracie jabbered all about her day, Rachael couldn't help but think of John and what he was thinking. Did he like Gracie? He had obviously been surprised by her. Was it a good thing or a bad one? She didn't know and she wanted to ask so badly, but knew she couldn't in front of Gracie. This was going to be hard enough explaining to her.

John managed to dodge the teenagers and their road rage and got his butt into Rachael's car and the door closed, all intact and safe. He let out a sigh of relief and strapped his seat belt on when out of no where that little voice came to him, "What are you doing in mama's car?" Gracie asked him.

John turned in his seat to look at the little girl, _his_ little girl. "I need a ride," he told her, not knowing what else to say. It hadn't really struck him until Gracie and Rachael had been talking in the pre-school that John didn't know what to say to the kid. It was sufficient to say that, "hey I'm your dad, okay?" wasn't going to cover it nor would Gracie believe it. Hell, he wouldn't have believed it then if some strange guy had said that to him, he would have thought they were nut jobs.

Now the problem was though, was what to say to Gracie; how to tell her that he was her father. That he wanted to be apart of her life like only a father could be to his daughter. It was a huge change and John didn't know if he was completely ready for it, but he knew he was willing to try.

"Mama don't give rides to strangers!' Gracie scolded her mother as Rachael got into the car and started it up.

Rachael smiled a little, even though it seemed a little strained, "He's not a stranger Gracie. This is, this is," she seemed to stumble over her words and not know what to say either.

"I'm an old friend of your mom's from Kentucky. I know Uncle War and Aunt Amanda," John finally said, saving them both from that innocent stare.

"I love Uncle War and Aunt Amanda," Gracie said smiling broadly, "And Aunt Amanda's pie!"

John laughed at that and so did Rachael. It was a good tension breaker and it had seemed to satisfy the kid's curiosity about John for the moment. Rachael let out a small breath and pulled out onto the street and drove all three of them back home.

When they had arrived back at Rachael and Gracie's house, John was still thanking God for allowing him to live another day and Gracie was out of her booster seat in less then a second.

She was bouncing around the front yard and picking up her toys and playing with them. John watched still in the car and was just amazed by her.

"Amazing isn't she?" Rachael said and startled John; he had thought that she was already out of the car too.

"Yeah," he said nodding his head and still watching their daughter as she kicked a soccer ball at the house and narrowly missed one of the living room windows.

"Gracie, you had better not be kicking anything else at my house or you'll be in trouble young lady," Rachael yelled at her daughter as she finally got out of the car.

Gracie looked at her mom a little guiltily, but smiled nonetheless, "It was a good shot! Goal!" she yelled and ran from her mom as fast as her little feet could carry her.

"Goal? Goal! I'll show you goal young lady," Rachael said and the chase was on.

Rachael chased Gracie around the front yard and all the way around the back and they were coming back to the front when Gracie looked back at her mom to see where she was and ran right into something that was really solid and really not movable in the least. She fell over and looked up with big eyes at the man her mom's friend and stuck out her lip, "You ran me over," she said.

"I didn't mean to, I'm sorry," John said. He truly was too, he had just walked around the side of the house to see what they were up too and the kid had come out of no where and barreled into him head first.

"Jerk," Gracie called him, wrapping her arms around herself and still pouting.

John looked at a loss as to what to do, he couldn't believe he had already hurt her feelings and made her mad at him.

"Gracie! It was an accident and he apologized. Don't call people names," Rachael scolded as she picked Gracie up from underneath her armpits and set her up standing, "Now apologize to John for calling him a name and running into him," she told her.

"Fine, sorry about all that stuff I did," Gracie said and looked up at John, "You're tall."

John smiled, "It's okay and you're short," he told her.

"Am not!" Gracie replied indignantly.

"You are short stuff," John said and grinned at the infuriated look on Gracie's face.

"I am not!" Gracie said narrowing her eyes at John.

"What I couldn't hear you from way down there, what was that short stuff?" John said as he put his hand to his ear and bending down to Gracie trying to 'hear' her.

"I'M NOT SHORT!" Gracie yelled at the top of her lungs and John realized the kid was little, except for her eyes and her lungs.

Gracie charged him then, intent on teaching John a lesson no doubt, but he was ready for her and when she got close enough, John scooped Gracie up into his arms and just held her there. She thrashed about for a minute and then stopped, "You're really strong," she announced.

"I know short stuff," John said and made Gracie wiggle a little more and frown, "Ah now don't frown. I know, how about," and John started tickling Gracie.

It was obvious that Gracie was very ticklish from the squeals that were escaping her as John continued his tickle assault. She continued to giggle and then said, "Stop! Please stop," and she laughed some more, "You win! You win!" she yelled and laughed more.

John finally stopped his tickling and looked at Gracie who fit so tiny in his arms. She didn't weigh anything, but he definitely knew she was there with him. He liked the feeling of Gracie in his arms. He just looked at Gracie and Gracie looked back at him, not saying anything.

"I think I'm going to go in the house and leave you two for a few minutes. Come on in when you want a snack," Rachael said and quickly escaped into the house.

She made her way into the kitchen and pulled open the refrigerator door. Rachael pulled out some mayonnaise, ham, cheese and a couple other things and put them all on the counter. She grabbed for the bread and started to open it up, but couldn't see the twist tie properly for the tears that were in her eyes.

Rachael hadn't known that seeing Gracie and John together would be so hard. She didn't know that their resemblance to each other would hit her so hard when they were together. She didn't know that when Gracie smiled at John that she could be so jealous of John. Rachael knew it was dumb to feel this way, she had had Gracie all to herself for years and John hadn't even known about her, but still, it just felt like the end of something and that was what was making Rachael cry.

She didn't hear the door open and close, she just felt the little hand touching her arm and the little voice asking what was wrong. Rachael quickly wiped the tears from her face and smiled down at Gracie, "Nothing sweetie," she told her.

"But mama, you were crying!" Gracie insisted.

"Uh, mama just got a boo-boo, okay? It's alright now though," Rachael said and at Gracie's still dubious look, "It's all better now, I promise," she said and that finally seemed to satisfy the kid. "Now why don't you go watch some T.V.?" she suggested.

Gracie seemed a little reluctant to go at first, but finally went and sat down on the couch and turned the T.V. to Nickelodeon.

Rachael was still fussing with the bread when another hand, a much larger one, also touched her arm, "What's really wrong?" a deep voice asked her.

"It's nothing John. It's dumb, don't worry about it," Rachael tried to play it off, but John would have none of it.

"Rachael, did I do something wrong with Gracie? What's wrong?" John asked just as insistently as before.

Rachael laid the bread down and smiled sadly at it, "I just, this is just a lot harder then I thought it was going to be and we haven't even told her who you are yet," she finally said.

John nodded his head and maybe he did it because he knew somehow that Rachael needed it, or maybe he needed it, or maybe it was because he was feeling nostalgia for their old friendship, but John wrapped his arms around Rachael and hugged her the best he could.

Rachael let out a little surprised note, but stayed in John's embrace and letting his comfort seep into her slowly. She closed her eyes and just let the world stand as it stood and tried not to think of anything for a moment.

"We'll make it through this okay," John said lowly, "I don't know how, but we'll all make it through."

Rachael nodded her head and looked up at John, "Thanks," she said and he nodded his head a little, "Hey what happened to your jaw?" she asked seeing the underside of it that was turning a nasty shade of purple.

"Hard punch," John said smiling regretfully.

"You're okay?" Rachael asked.

"Yeah, you okay?" John asked her back.

"Yeah," Rachael said as John's arms finally dropped from around her.

"What is going on you two?" Gracie asked from the archway of the living room; her eyebrow up in the air, demanding answers. John wasn't sure if that was his kid or Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's with that eyebrow.

"Everything's okay Gracie, don't get upset," Rachael tried to sooth her daughter.

"No!" Gracie said stomping her foot.

"Now Gracie," Rachael started, but it was too late. The little girl had already upset herself and had started to cry.

Rachael quickly scooped her up and walked over to the living room and sat on the couch. She petted on her daughter, stroking her hair and back. John lingered behind for a minute, but finally stepped into the living room and also sat on the couch beside the two girls. He turned the T.V. off and waited to see what would happen.

"Gracie, are you okay now?" Rachael asked looking down at her and when she nodded Rachael sat her a little straighter on her lap, "Gracie, mommy's going to tell you something very important okay?" she asked.

Gracie nodded her head and stared at her mom, "Is this why you were crying?" she wanted to know.

"A little, yes," Rachael admitted, "Just listen okay?"

Gracie nodded her head and watched as her mom took a deep breath and looked at her, "This is John," she said indicating the guy who called her 'short-stuff' and had played with her outside. "John is a," Rachael stumbled over her words a little, "He is mommy's special friend and he is very important to you too," Rachael told Gracie.

"Is he my special friend too?" Gracie wanted to know. Friends were great, but if they were special too? Awesome!

"Well no he's not. John here is something much mo re important to you and he wants to be apart of your life from now on," Rachael said emphasizing the last part as she glanced at John.

"Huh?" Gracie said not really getting any of that.

Rachael smiled a small smile at her daughter, "Baby, John here is your father," she told Gracie. She couldn't believe she had done it. Rachael had actually said it out loud for the first time ever. Either people had no idea who the father to Gracie was, or they had just assumed it was John and Rachael hadn't denied it; but she had never actually said John is Gracie's father.

Gracie blinked at her mom and looked over to John, "You're my daddy?" she asked him.

John didn't know what to do; he didn't think this was going to happen so fast. He had just met the kid! What if she hated him? What if she loved him? What if, what if, what if. "Yeah short stuff, I am," John finally said.

Gracie looked at John and then at her mother, and then back again, "I have to pee," she told them and climbed out of her mother's lap and walked to the bathroom and shut the door.

John and Rachael both looked dumbfounded. "That's it?" John asked looking at Rachael, "She's not going to throw herself on me or kick me or something?" he asked her.

Rachael shrugged her shoulders and shook her head, "She seemed to just take it in like a pro," Rachael said, "She wasn't upset anymore."

The two were still on the couch when Gracie came back out, "I'm hungry," she announced and looked at her mom who just looked back at her. Gracie made an aggravated sound and then turned to John, "If you're my daddy then make me a sandwich," she said and from the look of her mother she added, "please."

John stood up and went into the kitchen to finish the sandwich that Rachael had started, Gracie right behind him. He finished it up and stuck it on a plate that was sitting there and handed it to Gracie who wrinkled her nose at it.

"What?" he asked.

"I can't carry plates, I'm too little," she told him.

"Oh, yeah I should have known that," John said and walked through an archway into the small dining room and sat the plate on the table and helped Gracie onto a chair.

Gracie looked pleased until she looked at her sandwich and again scrunched up her face and looked up at him, "What now?" he asked her. He had done everything right he thought.

"It's not cut up," she told him.

"Oh!" John said and realized there was no way the kid could pick that up and eat it whole. He quickly went to the kitchen and got the butter knife and came back and cut the sandwich into fourths. He was very pleased with himself.

"Squares are for squares," Gracie announced and laughed at John. John didn't know what she was talking about, except that his four year old was making fun of him.

Rachael had snuck up on them and let out a small laugh, "You cut the sandwiches in squares instead of triangles. She likes triangles because squares are for squares," she explained.

His kid had not just called him a square! John looked down at Gracie who had already taken a big bite out of one of them and was smiling up at him, ham hanging in her teeth, "It's okay, you made it for me so I'll eat the squares," she said and continued eating her sandwich.

John looked to Rachael who only shook her head and smiled and John wondered if her was already over his head.

To Be Continued!


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: I do not own or make any money from the people/characters and situations in this story._

_Author's Note: So sorry for the wait! I hadn't realized it had been so long. I hope you all enjoy and of course review! I love those and they are greatly appreciated! Thanks!_

_Chapter 6: Give and Take_

_The next few days were a learning experience for John. Gracie was a little joy that was almost always laughing and asking questions. Obviously something she had inherited from her mother who had just asked John why people needed rain gutters since it was going to get everything wet anyways and your roof protected your house. __Where does she come up with those questions,_ he wondered to himself.

Still John was getting used to everything slowly and while he had tried to be involved with Gracie as much as he could be, he also didn't want to force his presence on her either. Even as her father, Gracie didn't know John and she had a tendency to not listen to John, to mind him or otherwise. After almost a week with Gracie, John felt more like an almost broken in babysitter rather then a father.

"Gracie," John called to her as he watched her starting to mark on her desk and not just her paper, "Gracie don't mark on your desk, just your paper okay?"

Gracie nodded her head, her straight hair bouncing with the motion and continued what she was doing, marking on both the paper and her desk.

"Gracie!" John said again, "please stop that," he tried to sound with more authority and when he still got nothing he walked over and stopped her hand from drawing on the desk. "Gracie, I asked you to stop that. You don't want to mark all over your pretty desk."

Gracie looked up at her daddy with squinted eyes and a puckered mouth, "Do too! Mommy said I could!"

John sighed, "No she didn't Gracie; now please stop it," he tried again. 

"You're mean!" Gracie howled, tears already appearing to brim in her blue eyes.

_God how does she do that? _John thought as he watched Gracie instantaneously start to cry on him…again.

"I'm sorry you're mad, but you have to stop doing bad stuff, okay?" he asked Gracie who was still revving her tears up on him, "please listen to me, please?" he begged her.

"NO!" was her final response before the wails started to fill the room.

John covered his face with his hands as he listened to his daughter cry. It was so hard getting her to listen to him! He wasn't being unreasonable was he? He just asked her to stop drawing on her desk, not to stop entirely. Why was she freaking out on him so badly? What was wrong with him that was making her freak out so badly?

"I want my mommy!" Gracie demanded in between tears.

"She'll be here soon," John said taking his hands from his face to look at his wristwatch, "an hour at the most okay?"

"But I wan-want her no-now!" Gracie stuttered, the tears clogging her speech.

"But she's at work Gracie. I promise mommy will be here soon okay?" John told her, hoping to appease her. All he got were more tears.

After a few minutes of this and Gracie seemingly not letting up at all, John started racking his brain for something to stop her tirade. He had already had to go to Rachael for help with Gracie before. He had never really had to deal with children intimately before. He had only been around children a lot when John himself had been a kid or when he saw fans of the WWE. Those kids didn't exactly get to be babysat by John Cena though; just a hug, pat on the head, how you doing here's your autograph. John was sure that wouldn't work with Gracie.

Rachael had told him that Gracie was just pushing her boundaries. It was normal at her age to do that to anyone, but especially since John was new to her and Gracie wasn't sure how to react to him, she had really been pushing him hard. Rachael told John that he needed to be firm, but fair and just let Gracie know what was over the line and what was not. After that everything would be fine, Gracie was an easy child to get along with once she knew that.

John thought Rachael had went soft in the head. He had tried being gentle but firm and letting Gracie know what was cool and what was not, but that kid would have none of it. If it came out of John's mouth it was crap.

John, having his patience worn and a little more then aggravated, decided to be a little more firm, _maybe she'll finally listen then_, he thought, hoped.

"Gracie, if you don't stop crying because I told you that you couldn't draw on your desk, then I'm not going to let you draw at all," he said.

Gracie looked up with wide eyes at John, she let out a few whimpers and looked around her room for some support. Finally she just looked defeated and slowly put down her marker, got up, walked over to her bed and threw herself onto it. John could hear her little sobs being muffled into the comforter. 

John wanted to go hang himself right then. Not only because he felt like the hugest jerk in the world because she was crying and it was his fault, but this was making him just as miserable as it was making Gracie.

John sat down where he was standing before. He just plopped himself down and sat there watching Gracie. He shifted slightly and pulled out a Bratz doll that had been stabbing his ass with its high heeled foot. He tossed it in the direction of her toy bin and forgot about it. 

Time seemed to pass slowly as the father and daughter sat apart and wondered what had went wrong. Finally though, John heard tires crunching gravel and he knew that Rachael was home again. It filled him with relief to know he was off the hook and that Gracie would soon be all smiles again.

John didn't bother to get up when he saw Gracie's head jerk up when her mothers car door shut and she jumped off the bed and ran for her mom.

"Mommy!" Gracie cried and ran out of the house and into her mother's waiting arms.

Rachael smiled and then frowned as she hugged her daughter to her. Picking her up she asked, "How was your day sweetie? Did you have fun at school?"

"Yea," Gracie muttered quietly, trying to dig her face into Rachael's shoulder.

"What's wrong?" Rachael asked her as she got Gracie to finally look at her. She was crying. Sighing, Rachael wiped away her tears.

"Daddy is mean," Gracie said and started crying again. 

"Oh honey," Rachael said as she got in the door and sat on the couch. She rocked Gracie for awhile, calming her baby down. It was hard to understand a pre-schooler anyways, let alone when they were upset.

When Gracie had calmed herself more, Rachael repositioned Gracie on her lap so she could look at her properly when she spoke to her. "Gracie, what happened?" she asked.

"Daddy was mean to me and wouldn't let me draw," Gracie said her lip trembling a little, but holding firm.

"Why wouldn't he let you draw?" Rachael asked, reserving judgment on John for now. He was new to parenting and while Rachael knew she was far from perfect, she also knew that John liked having his way too.

"He's mean!" Gracie yelped.

"Because she was drawing on her desk," came a deep voice from behind Rachael and Gracie.

Rachael turned her head as much as she could and saw that John's mood matched Gracie's perfectly.

Ouch.

"Were you drawing on your desk?" she asked Gracie.

"No," Gracie lied meekly.

It was definitely a lie and Rachael was not fooled by it, she turned her head again, "What happened?" she asked John.

John walked over and sat on the couch. He rubbed his jaw and winced a little, "She was drawing and started drawing on her desk too, so I asked her to stop and she didn't. I asked her to stop again and she said no, so I said she couldn't draw at all if she kept drawing on the desk too. She didn't like that," John finished.

"Is that what really happened Grace?" Rachael asked sternly.

Gracie looked up alarmed. Her mommy didn't call her Grace unless she was in trouble. She shrugged her shoulders and gave John a dirty look. "You're mean," she told him.

"Grace," Rachael said firmly, "First John, I mean, daddy was right to tell you not to draw on your desk. You know better. Second, I don't want you saying daddy's mean when he is just making you mind. He doesn't want you to be a bad girl like how mommy doesn't want you to be a bad girl."

Gracie looked upset by Rachael siding with him and he actually felt bad about it. He was right and he felt bad about it.

"Do you understand you were being bad?" Rachael asked Gracie who nodded her head. "Then go sit in your time out chair okay? I'll tell you when you can get up."

Gracie slid off of Rachael's lap and walking like the words 'time out chair' were code for the guillotine, she went into the dining room where her time out chair was in the corner.

John watched this quiet exchange and was amazed, "God, how do you _do_ that?" he asked Rachael.

"What?" Rachael asked him back.

"Get her to listen with just telling her once," John clarified, "I try and try to get her to listen to me and if she does, she's never happy to do it and throws a fit on me," he said.

Rachael smiled a little. She had had this conversation three times now with John. Every day that she had had to work and John picked Gracie up from daycare and cared for her for a few hours, something disastrous had happened each time. Gracie was breaking John in the hard way for sure. "You just have to be firm with her," Rachael said.

"I try to be firm, but it just makes me look like a bad guy and she hates me," John laminated. 

Rachael smiled at John. He had just thrown himself into this and he was trying so hard to be the best dad ever. That was a very hard task to do, let alone when he figured out that sometimes you had to butt heads with your kid because you knew what was better for them, even if they didn't like it. John had a lot of good qualities for a dad, he was smart and funny. He could get down to Gracie's level and play with her imaginary friends at her tea parties as good as any other four year old, but he also was stubborn and impatient.

John wanted things done his way and he didn't like changing course. It had been a little bit of a surprise for Rachael to find that out. John used to not be so set in his ways. It had just went and showed her how much time had passed and how she didn't know John, this man she had created a life with, anymore. It was a thought that made her sad.

"Time maybe then," Rachael answered him, "She's still getting used to you and getting to know you. Maybe you two just need time and then it will be a lot easier."

"Maybe," John nodded his head glumly. All John knew was that this was going a lot harder then he had expected. Sure he knew that he knew shit when it came to parenting, but damn this was hard. He couldn't even get through an entire afternoon without screwing up and making Gracie cry and want her mom.

"John," Rachael said knocking John out of his stupor, "Why don't you go get Gracie out of time out and play in the back yard with her or something? I'll make some dinner."

"Are you sure that's okay?" John asked.

Rachael thought about it for just a moment. Just a few days ago she had been crazy jealous of how much John and Gracie looked alike and acted alike. How she didn't have Gracie all to herself. Now Rachael had a little more perspective and knew that she was still needed. That John and Gracie weren't going to go off into the sunset without her. At least not yet.

"Yes John," Rachael said looking at him, "You're her father, everything is going to be fine."

John just sighed and nodded his head. He got up and went into the dining room. There his daughter was sitting in her pink time out chair, facing a blank wall. "Gracie," John said to get her attention.

Gracie turned and looked at him and then turned around again. John took a deep breath, the little break of Gracie's time out had did wonders to clear his head. Probably that mini pep talk with Rachael had too. "Gracie time out is up. Mom's going to make us all dinner, so let's stay out of her way and go play outside, okay?"

Gracie didn't say anything, but continued sitting in her chair. John looked at her brown hair and decided to try something new. Maybe it would work. He made sure he made a little noise so that Gracie would know he was moving away from her. He walked through the arch way and into the kitchen and moved right on to the back door. He opened it up and leaving it open went and got Gracie's favorite thing, her soccer ball. John then walked back into the house and back into the dining room.

Gracie was watching him intently now, wondering what he was doing. John put the ball on the floor and gently kicked it at Gracie's chair. It quickly rolled and hit her chair and bounced off under the table.

"That is not 'sposed to be in here," Gracie scolded John. 

"Well you wouldn't play with me outside," John answered. He smiled a little at the way she mispronounced 'supposed'. She tried to talk so grown up, but her voice still had that baby tone to it and sometimes words just didn't come out right. It was incredibly cute and gooey and now he knew why Paul 'HHH' Levesque made everyone listen to his stories about his daughters. They were all just so cute.

"You can't play soccer in here!" Gracie told him, trying to get him to understand that her mommy had said no outside toys in the house.

"Come outside with me then," John tempted her.

"I don't want to," Gracie said, still looking a bit pouty at him.

"Okay then," John said retrieving the ball and kicking it again, making it bounce off the wall and spin away crazily in the other direction. He got the ball and made it bounce off his head and ricochet off into the kitchen.

Gracie giggled, "You are silly!" she announced pointing at him. She got up and followed her daddy to see what else he would do with her soccer ball. 

John was doing a happy dance in his head that Gracie was interested in what he was doing. He kicked the ball out into the yard, "I bet you can't get it before me," he dared her and Gracie looked up for the challenge. She ran to the door and John let her get to the soccer ball first. She kicked it hard and it went sailing over a small hill.

"GOAL!" she yelled and held up her hands and did a victory dance.

They played soccer until Gracie's cheeks were red, then John sat down on the grass and started trying to twirl the soccer ball like one would with a basketball on his finger. He wasn't too good at it.

"What are you doing," Gracie asked him, sitting beside of him.

"I'm trying to spin the ball on my finger," John asked, accomplishing it for only a moment before its balance was lost.

"You are the best soccer player in the world!" Gracie announced watching that second of balance with awe.

John laughed, it seemed he had been forgiven from earlier. That was one thing he liked about Gracie's personality, she seemed to forgive as fast as she got angry. "Thanks, but no I'm not. They wouldn't let me on a soccer team if I was the last guy they had."

"Why?" Gracie asked.

"Because I don't play soccer professionally, I'm a wrestler," John answered.

"What's that?" Gracie asked curiously.

John nodded his head. Rachael had yet to expose Gracie to the world of wrestling. Maybe she thought Gracie was to young to see it and understand. Maybe Rachael wasn't into wrestling anymore. Maybe she just didn't wasn't to see John on there. 

"It's where I wrestle someone else and win championships," John tried to answer as simply and vaguely as he could. He didn't know the proper procedure to talk about how he pretty much fought other guys in the ring and people thought it was a good thing to a four year old. 

"Does it have soccer balls," Gracie asked.

John laughed, that was a crazy question, but he was getting used to that sort of thing from Gracie, "No, sorry," he answered.

"Oh," Gracie said and seemed to dismiss wrestling if there wasn't a soccer ball in it.

But that comment did make John start thinking. It was already Saturday and he needed to probably leave for the next Raw tomorrow some time and at the latest Monday morning. Yet he couldn't think of why he wanted to leave Gracie at all. He was just getting used to being around her and being with her and now he had to leave again? It sucked. John wondered how Gracie and Rachael were going to react to it. He had heard the other guys in the locker room talking about leaving their kids and how much they missed them. He was starting to really understand what they were saying and he had known his kid for less then a week! 

"Dinner!" Rachael called out from the back door. She could see John and Gracie sitting in the grass and John frowning as he was trying to get the soccer ball to balance and spin for Gracie's amusement. It was cute and looked like something they had done every day their entire lives. 

Gracie immediately got up and ran, "Dinner! Dinner! Dinner!" she sang running past her mom and into the kitchen. 

John was much slower to get to Rachael and his frown still hadn't disappeared from his face. _Strange_, Rachael thought, _I thought they had got over their fight?_ She gave John a bit of a questioning look as he looked at her.

John stopped in front of Rachael and watched her confused expression run across her face, "We need to talk," he told her. This was something they needed to work out as soon as they could.

**To be continued!**


End file.
